Feb 4 (Reuters) - Tether's CEO said on Wednesday there had been "misconception" about the crypto group's fundraising plans after the Financial Times reported it had scaled back its ambitions following investor pushback over a proposed $500 billion valuation.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said Tether's advisers had floated raising as little as $5 billion, following initial reports last year that it was seeking $15 billion to $20 billion.
CEO Paolo Ardoino told Reuters that the initial range was discussed "as a maximum in hypothetical scenarios, not as a target and not as a capital raising plan".
He added that there was "significant interest" in Tether at a $500-billion valuation and that any discussions were guided by "ethos and long-term alignment, not by urgency or by the pursuit of the largest possible raise".
El Salvador-based Tether is the issuer of the world's most widely used USDT stablecoin, a digital dollar with $187 billion worth of tokens in circulation.
Bloomberg News reported in September that Tether was seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion for about a 3% stake through a private placement that could value it at as much as $500 billion.
Last month, Ardoino told Reuters that Tether's 2026 profit was expected to exceed the $10 billion it was estimated to have earned in 2025, and possibly the $13.7 billion earned in 2024.
Tether has strengthened its position in the stablecoin market by offering cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional currencies to reduce volatility and ease transfers between digital assets.
(Reporting by Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru. Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Mark Potter)
